Romania

Romania's embattled Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, on Wednesday again said he would not resign as a result of corruption allegations and will stay on as long as the ruling coalition supports him.

Bulgaria's Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Slovakia's Economy Minister Vazil Hudak confirmed the political support of the two countries for the Eastring gas pipeline project and discussed the next steps towards its implementation.

Senior members of Romania's governing Social Democratic Party, PSD, have started to openly demand reform inside the party following the indictment of its former leader, the current Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, on corruption charges.

Nikola Kazakov, Chair of the State Agency for Refugees, has commented on the benefits for Bulgaria from the agreement with the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, adding that similar documents were to be signed with Greece and Romania.

Inspired by the legend of Dracula, the fictional vampire from Bram Stoker's horror story, organisers of the Untold music festival in Transylvania have launched a campaign to encourage blood donation in Romania.

Music Festival Encourages People to Donate Blood|Photo by Untold Festival 

The budget and finance committee in Bulgaria's parliament approved on first reading the draft bill on the prevention of corruption among senior public officials on Thursday, BGNES reported.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has introduced secret credit lines to Bulgaria and Romania to avoid fallout from the Greek crisis, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Romania clearly supports Serbia's EU goal to join the EU and hopes that membership negotiations between Belgrade and Brussels would begin this year, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said on on Thursday.

Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday discussed bilateral ties, cooperation in the region and Serbia's EU integration.

Serbian officials have expressed alarm over Greece's recent conciliatory statements about Kosovo, whose independence Greece does not recognize.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told the Belgrade-based daily Blic on July 16 that he had sought an explanation from Athens.